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The Federal High Court sitting in Benin City, Edo State, has dismissed a suit seeking the removal of Olumide Akpata as the Labour Party governorship candidate for the September 21 governorship election in Edo.
The ruling led by Justice Babatunde Quadri said the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit filed by Kenneth Imasuagbon, who competed with Akpata for the LP governorship ticket.
The court held that Imasuagbon failed to exhaust the internal dispute resolution mechanisms within the Labour Party before seeking legal action.
The court further said that Imasuagbon’s claim of Akpata not signing the indemnity form was statute-barred.
The court also declared the lawsuit as premature and without substantial evidence to support its claims.
The judge said, “This court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the suit; it lacks merit and is based on speculation. The claimant failed to exhaust the internal dispute resolution of the party before seeking legal action, hence, robbing the court of jurisdiction.
“The claim that Akpata did not sign the indemnity form is status-barred and therefore the court lacks jurisdiction.”
